12 and up
Man in the Moon
Dotti Enderle
JANINE IS PREPARED for a sticky, boring summer on her family’s land in the middle of nowhere. Far from town and with only her ailing brother Ricky for company, Janine spends half her time stuck inside with him, wishing that their mother would let them out to play. But when Mr. Lunas—a mysterious man who saved Janine’s father’s life in the war— arrives through the cornfields, strange things begin happening. Ricky sets his heart on building a go-cart. Mr. Lunas eats them out of house and home, then suddenly stops eating at all. And then Ricky’s health takes a turn for the worse, and it looks like Janine’s world is about to spin out of control. Janine’s overprotective mom locks Ricky in his bedroom with her, and Janine is desperate to find a way to say goodbye. In the end, it’s Mr. Lunas who comes to her rescue, encouraging her to break Ricky free—and then giving them both an enormous gift. Thought-provoking and gracefully written, this short literary novel is a small gem.
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Whispers From the Bay
John Tkac
Key Biscayne, an island sitting off the coast of South Florida, it is here that young Mike Connelly realizes there is a mysterious connection between him and the dolphins living around the Key. His feelings grow stronger until one day, quite by accident, Mike discovers that he possesses a magical talent: he can communicate with dolphins. The dolphins and Mike become the best of friends, and their relationship plunges all of them into many adventures, some joyous and some frightening. After a disastrous trip to the Bahamas, Mike learns a fantastic secret that, if revealed, would change the course of world history. The dolphins, and their ancestors, have protected their secret for centuries, and now Mike faces the monumental challenge of keeping his vow of silence.
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Slipping
Cathleen Davitt Bell
Michael Kimmel is an average eighth grader who's too short to be good at basketball and too unmotivated to care about school. When the grandfather he barely knows suddenly dies, Michael can't understand why his dad seems so detached. But when the ghost of his grandfather contacts Michael and begins to show him scenes from the past, Michael suspects it's up to him to right the wrongs between his father and grandfather – before he himself becomes trapped in the river of the dead.
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The Seems
John Hulme, Michael Wexler
WARNING: Anything can happen in a Split Second Becker Drane's still got the coolest job in The World, but it's getting harder and harder to live a normal life outside of The Seems. He's definitely feeling the strain of being a teenager (complete with mood swings and a newfound respect for sarcasm) and he can't stop thinking about Jennifer Kaley, the totally cool girl he met during his Mission in Sleep. Things don't get any easier when a bomb explodes in the Department of Time and Becker is called in to pick up the pieces after a more senior Fixer couldn't disarm the device. It's his toughest mission yet, and Becker finds himself going places in The Seems he never knew existed, and meeting people long thought dead. Yep, it's just another day in the life of Becker Drane. Let's hope he lives to Fix again . . . .
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Sovay
Celia Rees
It's England, 1783. When the rich and beautiful Sovay isn't sitting for portraits, she's donning a man's cloak and robbing travelers―in broad daylight. But in a time when political allegiances between France and England are strained, a rogue bandit is not the only thing travelers fear. Spies abound, and rumors of sedition can quickly lead to disappearances. So when Sovay lifts the wallet of one of England's most powerful and dangerous men, it's not just her own identity she must hide, but that of her father. A dazzling historical saga in which the roles of thieves and gentry, good and bad, and men and women are interchanged to riveting effect.
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Kamichama Karin Chu
Koge-Donbo
GODDESS OF LOVE! Karin is your lovable girl-next-door type–if the girl next door also happens to be a goddess! Karin has a magic ring that gives her the power to do anything she’d like. What she’d like most, though, is to live happily ever after with Kazune, the boy of her dreams. Magic brought Kazune to her, but it also has a way of complicating things. It’s not easy to be a goddess and a girl in love!
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Smoke Screen
Bruce Emmett, Kristi Holl
Abby Wright, with her cute English accent and cool way of saying things, is Jeri McKane's biology lab partner and close friend. When a mysterious explosion in their lab sends Abby to the hospital, Jeri's sleuthing nose smells more than just smoke. Can she unravel the mystery before anyone else gets hurt, and worse yet, is the firebug at Landmark School targeting her? Danger and mystery abound for the group of middle-school friends as they are faced with the daily choice to trust God or give into their fears in the face of overwhelming challenges.
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Pick Your Poison
Bruce Emmett, Kristi Holl
When a group of Jeri McKane's friends help Abby present a birthday dinner for her home-ec project, the party ends up in the trashcan ... literally. Is it just an unfortunate event, or have the friends been intentionally poisoned? Jeri's instinct says something isn't right, and the girls follow a trail that leads to some not-so-sweet evidence. Tween girls can wonder why God doesn't step in when meanness and injustice happens. This story helps them see how he often uses ordinary people to help uncover the truth!
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The Guy Next Door
Carol Culver
Spring has officially arrived at Manderley Prep??and lust is in the air? Ethan Andrews is the one guy that Maggie has always wanted but never had the courage to go for. With her shortage of funds and Ugly Betty looks, she?s not even a blip on his radar. That?s all about to change when Maggie gets the makeover of a lifetime?and a little help from her friends. The perfect opportunity to get noticed by Ethan comes on the class trip to Hawaii. Could there be a more ideal setting for a little romance? Now Maggie just has to figure out if she has the guts to make her move?
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The Excalibur Murders
J.M.C. Blair
Merlin makes a great investigator—and it only looks like magic. Merlin is no magician, merely a scholar and advisor to King Arthur. But after the supposedly magical Stone of Bran is stolen—along with the legendary sword Excalibur—and one of ArthurÂ's squires is brutally murdered during the theft, Merlin must use the power of reason to conjure up a miracle and catch a murderer.
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